Paulo Debenest

Expliner - Robot for inspection of transmission lines

The inspection of high-voltage transmission lines is a dangerous and time-consuming job, that relies on especially trained workers operating tens of meters above the ground, and close to live lines with thousands of volts. This paper presents the development of a tele-operated robot designed for preventive maintenance of high-voltage lines. The robot was designed with mobility in mind, so that cable spacers, suspension clamps and other obstacles, which so far have prevented the use of robots for inspection of high-voltage lines, would not hamper the operation of the machine. After careful considerations on mobility, the robot was designed, and a prototype was built. Results of tests, performed on facilities reproducing real field conditions, are also presented in this paper.

Expliner — From prototype towards a practical robot for inspection of high-voltage lines

Transmission of electricity depends on high-voltage lines, crossing thousands of kilometers in mountainous areas, deserts and forests. The preventive maintenance of these lines is of extreme importance. However, this requires the temporary interruption of transmission of energy, which is not always possible. In this paper, the authors present Expliner, a new concept to move on live transmission lines, negotiating obstacles and performing detailed inspection of the conductors, with reduced risks to the operators and no need to interrupt the transmission of electricity. This paper presents not only details of the concept, but also of its implementation and operational procedures that were developed for the use of a robot in such demanding conditions.

Helios VII : a new vehicle for disaster response-mechanical design and basic experiments

Crawler-type vehicles have a considerable importance for rescue operations and tasks performed on disaster-stricken areas. A great deal of research has already been performed on tracked vehicles. However, due to the variety of scenerios in which robots are employed, it is important to design vehicles with high terrain adaptability and that are capable to fulfill different tasks. After an overview of the merits of crawler-type vehicles, the important features of tracked vehicles are introduced and explained. The concept and the mechanical design of a new crawler-type vehicle for rescue operations, named Helios VII, are presented. It consists of two crawlers independently actuated and it is equipped with a manipulator. The novel gripper utilized as an end-effector for the arm is also introduced and tested. Basic experiments on the first assembled prototype are performed to verify the motion capabilities of the vehicle.

HELIOS system: A team of tracked robots for special urban search and rescue operations

Fire brigades and special agencies are often demanded to operate for search and aid of human lives in extremely dangerous scenarios. It is very important to first verify the safety of the environment and to obtain remotely a clear image of the scenario inside buildings or underground spaces. Several studies have been addressing the possibility of using robotic tools to carry out safe operations.

HELIOS IX tracked vehicle for urban search and rescue operations: Mechanical design and first tests

Fire brigades and special rescue agencies are often demanded to operate for search and aid of human lives in extremely dangerous scenarios. The use of robotic tools can make those operations safer for the operators and more efficient in terms of time and allocation of resources. This contribution describes the development of the newest tracked vehicle HELIOS IX. This mobile platform equipped with a manipulator represents the first stage of a Japanese national founded project. It aims to the development of a robotic system to be utilized in extreme environments such as rescue operations in heavily stricken urban areas. With respect to the previous prototypes the mechanical design and the system architecture is described. A new gripper is also introduced and tested together with few mobility experiments of the platform.

Expliner - Toward a Practical Robot for Inspection of High-Voltage Lines

Preventive maintenance of high-voltage transmission power lines is a dangerous task, but the obstacles mounted on the lines have so far prevented the automation of this task. Expliner aims to overcome such obstacles by controlling actively the position of its center of mass, thus changing its configuration as needed when moving on the power lines. This work presents the design of Expliner and results of field experiments performed with very high voltages to prove the effectiveness of the proposed concept.

A New Approach to Humanitarian Demining. Part 1: Mobile Platform for Operation on Unstructured Terrain

Landmines can deprive whole areas of valuable resources, and continue to kill and cause injuries years after the end of armed conflicts. Armored vehicles are used for mine clearance, but with limited reliability. The final inspection of minefields is still performed by human deminers exposed to potentially fatal accidents. The aim of this research is to introduce automation as a way to improve the final level of humanitarian demining. This paper addresses mobility and manipulation, while sensing, communication and visualization shall be discussed in detail in a subsequent paper. After analyzing the merits and limitations of previous works, a new approach to tele-operated demining is considered, using off-road buggies equipped with combustion engines, and taking into account actual field requirements. Control of the automated buggies on rough terrain is also discussed, as well as the development of a new weight-balanced manipulator for landmine clearance operations.

Proposal for automation of humanitarian demining with buggy robots

Landmines represent a clear threat to the civilian population in war-ravaged countries, and hamper peacekeeping and reconstruction efforts. The seriousness of this issue demands immediate automation of the mine detection and removal tasks, but until now only partial mechanization has been available. This paper proposes a versatile and feasible automated system based on mobile platforms to improve humanitarian demining, taking into account field requirements. Details of the development of the mobile platforms are presented, as well as experimental results. Special tools and components, also briefly described, are under development in order to maximize the range of applications of this system.

HELIOS carrier: Tail-like mechanism and control algorithm for stable motion in unknown environments

Mobile platforms when negotiating steps and stairs should be able to control theirs posture in order to avoid sudden tilting or falls. In particular, when considering applications for search and rescue operations where users have a very limited time of operation, the motion on stairs should be automated as much as possible. In this way operators can concentrate on their tasks (i.e. search of survivors and/or exploration of dangerous environments) rather than having to focus on the stability of the vehicle. A simple but very effective mechanism called “tail” is introduced. The mechanical design and its control method is presented together with several tests and experiments carried out with a simple tracked vehicle in real environments.

Robotics-assisted demining with Gryphon

The threat and consequences of landmines have led to a multitude of alternative research activities in the field of demining. While mine sensor-focused research has been intensive, there has been relatively less attention given to the problem of automating the detection and removal procedure. Understandably, autonomous robot operation and interaction in unstructured field environments are difficult. This paper addresses this by presenting a robot meant to assist humanitarian demining by providing a cheap, fast, reliable and safe alternative to human deminers risking their lives on a daily basis. The robot, named Gryphon, is able to autonomously scan 2 m2 at a time with any type of mine sensor payload. It then presents acquired sensor images to the operator who selects which spots need further investigation or prodding. The robot then appropriately marks the terrain with paint or marking plates. Gryphon has been extensively field tested in Japan, Croatia and Cambodia.